Rugby World Cup 2015

In Spain most people have no idea that it's happening, but in Britain and many other countries at the moment, many fans are following the Rugby World Cup. This week's 1ºESO group have been investigating to find out more about this sport and the championship.

History of the Rugby World Cup (Alejandra, Blanca & Carlota)

The first Rugby World Cup was held in 1987, hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Since the first tournament, six others have been held at four-year intervals. The most recent tournament was held in New Zealand in 2011, and was won by the New Zealand All Blacks. The 2015 tournament is currently being held from the 19^th of September 2015 till 30^th of October 2015 in England and Wales.

The Rugby World Cup has been held seven times, with Australia, South Africa and New Zealand each winning it twice. The other winner was England in 2003. England is the only nation from the northern hemisphere to have won the tournament.

Year	Winner
1987	New Zealand
1991	Australia
1995	South Africa
1999	Australia
2003	England
2007	South Africa
2011	New Zealand

The history of women´s rugby

Women's rugby union is a sport identical to the men's game with the same rules, same sized pitch, and same equipment. However, it has a history which is significantly different, due to various social pressures, and the self-image of rugby union in general. As a result, this history has been largely hidden until comparatively recently, although the game is gaining a higher profile thanks to international tournaments and financial investment. Women have their own Women's Rugby World Cup. England are the current champions.

The haka

The haka is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance, or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment. The New Zealand team do this dance before their matches, and we think it is very aggressive but it's very cool.

The laws of rugby (Paco)

Struggling to follow what is happening on the pitch in rugby? Read below and start to understand some of the basic rules and terminology of the game:

Scoring: a player who puts the ball down over the opposition team's line scores a 'try', worth 5 points. The resulting 'conversion' is worth 2 points if the ball is kicked over the 'H'-shaped goal posts. Other kicks (a penalty and a drop-goal) are worth 3 points.

Forward pass: players are not allowed to pass the ball forward to a team-mate.

Knock on: if a player drops the ball forward or loses possesion of the ball and it goes forward, a scrum is awarded to the other team.

Scrum: the 8 forwards of each team push against each other to win the ball. This is a very famous and unique part of rugby.

Tackle: a tackle occurs when the player carrying the ball is held by one or more opponent and brought to the ground and the ball touches the ground.

Foul play: the offending player is penalised, possibly sent to the sin bin for ten minutes or even sent off.

Interview with Gareth (Fernando & Pablo)

We interviewed the teacher Gareth to find out more about his love of rugby.

What team do you support?

My favourite club is my hometown Cardiff Blues and my national team is Wales.

Who is your favourite player?

My favourite player is Mikey Rayer (Cardiff and Wales), who played when I was teenager. My favourite player today is George North (Wales).

How many years have you been playing rugby?

I played when I was a child and stopped playing a few years ago. I have also been a coach and referee but now I am only a fan.

Who is the best team in Europe?

In Europe the club champions are Toulon (France) and the Six Nations champions are Ireland, but Wales are higher in the world rankings. We'll see what happens in the rest of the World Cup, as Ireland, Wales, Scotland and France are through to the quarter finals. England, the host nation, have sensationally failed to pass the group stage.

Why do you like rugby?

In Wales it is the national sport and I think it is the ultimate team sport. It combines skill, speed, power, team play and fitness .

Do your daughters like rugby?

They are still very young but when I am watching rugby they shout "come on Wales!" Maybe they will play rugby or another sport in the future.

Gareth' rugby information and links

Invictus is a very good film that depicts the famous South Africa Rugby World Cup of 1995 when the legendary Nelson Mandela awarded the trophy. It encapsulates the passion of the occasion and the rugby scenes in the film are quite accurate too.

http://www.xvhortaleza.com/

Are you interested in trying rugby? XV Hortaleza Rugby Club, Gareth's club, is near the school and has teams for boys and girls 5 years old to adult.

See the legendary New Zealand haka in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebZVMc0NKZs

For action from this Rugby World Cup check out the YouTube channel, which has match highlights and other interesting and funny videos https://www.youtube.com/user/irb

Rugby information with a Spanish flavour http://www.marca.com/mas_deportes/rugby.html